Food Literacy: Four Initiatives in Canada: Food Studies An Interdisciplinary Journal January 2020

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Food Literacy: Four Initiatives in Canada
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VOLUME 10 ISSUE 1
Food Studies
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An Interdisciplinary Journal
__________________________________________________________________________
Food Literacy
Four Initiatives in Canada
MELISSA ANNE FERNANDEZ, ERIC SCHOFIELD, ELSIE AZEVEDO PERRY, AND JOYCE SLATER
FOOD-STUDIES.COM
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Food Literacy: Four Initiatives in Canada
Melissa Anne Fernandez, University of Alberta, Canada
Eric Schofield, Saanich School District, Canada
Elsie Azevedo Perry, Pine Ridge District Health Unit, Health Promotion, Canada
Joyce Slater,1 University of Manitoba, Canada
Abstract: Healthy eating is challenging within a food environment that constantly exposes the public to unhealthy
processed foods that are appealing and convenient. Food environments are becoming more complex with technological
advances that further increase the availability and marketing of processed foods. At the same time, widespread food and
nutrition misinformation and “diet culture” are contributing to negative associations with food, negatively impacting
well-being. Food literacy presents an opportunity to negate some of these influences, by assisting individuals in
developing the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and self-efficacy needed to make healthy dietary decisions within different
contexts. Further work is required to translate a more holistic concept of food literacy into interventions rather than
single aspects of it such as nutrition education, which tends to be focused on dietary standards, nutrients, and food
groups. This manuscript summarizes a colloquium given at the International Food Studies Conference in 2018, where the
authors presented a narrative review of the state of food literacy in Canada and chronicled four examples of initiatives
that have been undertaken in various settings.
Keywords: Evaluation, Food Environments, Food Literacy, Food Skills, Home Economics, Nutrition Education
Introduction

oor diet is a major contributor to disease burden leading to reduced quality of life,
morbidity and mortality, and enormous economic loses through direct and indirect
healthcare costs (Afshin et al. 2019; Benjamin et al. 2017). Eating practices are influenced
by a number of complex and dynamic factors that include food environments, social norms and
networks, marketing practices, and government policies, which make improving dietary intakes
of the public inherently difficult (Brug 2008). Over the last half-century food systems have
evolved to provide a wide range of unhealthy highly processed foods that are readily accessible,
affordable, and available, creating an obesogenic food environment (Lake 2018; Swinburn,
Egger, and Raza 1999). Implementing policies such as front of package labelling, restricting food
marketing to children, and taxing sugar-sweetened beverages are expected to make it easier to
help individuals make better choices within their environment (Mozaffarian et al. 2012).
However, it is also important to equip the public with individual and social processes such as
skills and knowledge that will facilitate healthy eating in addition to the ability to critically
appraise food information and environments. Improving food literacy is a strategy that can help
individuals develop healthy eating practices and navigate complex food environments (Slater
2017). Food literacy represents a spectrum of food-related knowledge, skills, attitudes, and
values that enhance well-being. Further work is required to translate a more holistic concept of
food literacy into interventions rather than single aspects of it such as nutrition education, which
tends to be focused on dietary standards, nutrients, and food groups. This manuscript summarizes
a colloquium given at the International Food Studies Conference in 2018, where the authors
presented a narrative review of the state of food literacy in Canada and chronicled four examples
of initiatives that have been undertaken in various settings.
1
Corresponding Author: Joyce Slater, 409 Human Ecology Building, Department of Food and Human Nutritional
Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3T 2N2, Canada. joyce.slater@umanitoba.ca
Food Studies: An International Journal

Volume 10, Issue 1, 2020, https://food-studies.com
© Common Ground Research Networks, Melissa Anne Fernandez,
Eric Schofield Elsie Azevedo Perry, Joyce Slater, Some Rights Reserved,
(CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). Permissions: cgscholar.com/cg_support
ISSN: 2160-1933 (Print), ISSN: 2160-1941 (Online)
https://doi.org/10.18848/2160-1933/CGP/v10i01/43-60 (Article)
FOOD STUDIES: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL
What is Food Literacy?

Food literacy has emerged in recent years as an important construct to potentially attenuate the
negative health effects of our modern foodscape and improve our relationship to food (Fordyce-
Voorham 2017; Ronto et al. 2016; Slater 2017; Vidgen and Gallegos 2013). Food literacy is a
foil to “nutritionism”: the reductive understanding of nutrients as the key indicators of healthy
food that has dominated nutrition science, dietary advice, and food marketing for decades
(Scrinis 2008). Food literacy represents a more holistic approach to describing and understanding
our relationship with food, essential in our complex modern food system.
While no single definition exists, the body of literature on food literacy has increased in
recent years. Reviews conducted on food literacy definitions and theoretical frameworks point to
these commonalities: obtaining and understanding basic information on food and nutrition and
having the skills to apply this information (e.g., healthy food choices and food preparation);
understanding the effects of food choices on health, environment and economy; having a pleasant
and positive relationship with food; acquiring knowledge of food origins and food systems; and
understanding the influence of cultural, social, historic and religious factors on food choice and
eating habits (Azevedo Perry et al. 2017; Brooks and Begley 2014; Krause et al. 2018; Truman,
Lane, and Elliott 2017). The following definition captures the breadth of food literacy,
demonstrating that it is more than acquiring nutrition knowledge and/or food skills:

Food literacy is the ability of an individual to understand food in a way that they
develop a positive relationship with it, including food skills and practices across
the lifespan in order to navigate, engage, and participate within a complex food
system. It’s the ability to make decisions to support the achievement of personal
health and a sustainable food system considering environmental, social,
economic, cultural and political components (Cullen et al. 2015, 143)
Others have conceptualized food literacy as having three sub-components: functional,

interactive, and critical food literacy (Slater 2013). Functional food literacy focuses on having
accurate procedural knowledge to make informed decisions regarding food, nutrition, and food
safety (Slater 2013; Sustain Ontario 2016). Interactive food literacy emphasizes acquisition of
personal skills including food skills, decision-making skills, and goal-setting skills that can
facilitate nutritional health and well-being (Slater 2013). Critical food literacy ranges from
critically reflecting on factors that influence food choices and interpreting food marketing claims
to judging advice from nutrition experts (Krause et al. 2018; Slater et al. 2018). It also includes
reflecting upon the role of culture and spirituality on food choice and production, as well as the
effects of food and nutrition decisions on society.
These dimensions of food literacy have further been nuanced and encapsulated in a series of
food literacy competencies for young adults under “functional” (e.g., having basic nutrition and
food safety knowledge; knowing where food comes from; having budgeting skills), “relational”
(e.g., having a positive relationship with food; recognizing the importance of preparing and
eating food with/for other); and “system” competencies (e.g., understanding social justice issues
in the food system; understanding aspects of environmentally sustainable food systems)
(Slater et al. 2018).
While these definitions are true to the meaning of “literacy,” the outcome of educational
goals intended to inform, develop personal skills, and contribute to personal and community
empowerment, and social change, Vidgen and Gallegos remind us that food literacy efforts must
be supported with sufficient societal “scaffolding;” the scaffolding that empowers individuals,
households, communities, or nations to protect diet quality through change and support dietary
resilience over time (Vidgen and Gallegos 2014).
44
FERNANDEZ ET AL.: FOOD LITERACY
The Dietary Guidelines for the Brazilian population was one of the first national food-based
dietary guidelines that not only provided recommendations about what to eat, but also included
guidance about how to eat by integrating aspects of food literacy. It provided guidance on how to
select food, handle food, eat mindfully, and eat with company (Ministry of Health of Brazil
2014). Similarly, the latest version of Canada’s Food Guide has integrated various dimensions of
food literacy by emphasizing that “healthy eating is not just about the foods that you eat,” it is
also about being mindful of your eating habits, cooking more often, enjoying your food, eating
meals with others, using food labels, limiting foods high in sodium, sugars, or saturated fat, and
being aware of food marketing (Health Canada 2019). These recommendations reinforce the
importance of food literacy, which can help consumers more confidently navigate unhealthy food
environments, advocate for improved food environments, and develop a more positive
relationship with food.
Impact of Contemporary Diets on Human and Planetary Health

Ultra-processed foods are characterized by industrial “formulations mostly made from substances
extracted from food or obtained with the further processing of constituents of foods or through
chemical synthesis, such as oils, hydrogenated fats, starches, sugars, protein isolates, amino acids
and additives like flavors and colors” (Louzada et al. 2015, 10). They are highly palatable, ready-
to-consume, or require little preparation and dominate our diets (Monteiro et al. 2013). Ultra-

processed dietary patterns contain low nutrient quality with little protein, fiber, vitamins and
minerals and high amounts of sugar, saturated fats, and calories (Moubarac et al. 2017, Steele et
al. 2017, Steele et al. 2016). High intakes of ultra-processed foods have been consistently
associated with greater risk for diet-related diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and
metabolic syndrome in various populations around the world (Rauber et al. 2018; Nardocci et al.
2018; Juul et al. 2018; Gibney et al. 2017). Due to high intakes of processed foods and their
impact on displacing healthier foods in the diet, there is a general consensus that the public
should eat fewer processed foods (Mozaffarian 2016); however, they lack the food skills
necessary to do this.
In addition to having negative impacts on human health, highly processed dietary patterns
are increasingly harmful to ecosystems (Godfray et al. 2018; Garnett 2013). Global meat
consumption is rising dramatically in spite of meat consumption slowing in industrialized
countries (Bruinsma 2003). The increase in meat production is a major contributor to greenhouse
gases (Swain et al. 2018). Additionally, high fast/ultra-processed food consumption contributes
to environmental degradation through other pathways, including the garbage it generates—food
waste and food packaging. Canadians consume over 2.5 billion dollars of fast food per month
(Statistics Canada 2019), which is a major source of “single-use” plastic (UNEP 2018). Almost
90 percent of this waste is not recycled, contributing to pollution of landfills, waterways and
habitats (Environmental Defense 2018). A lack of food literacy creates a cycle of dependency on
packaged, processed foods.
These trends strongly suggest that a new approach to food is warranted to improve human
well-being and ecosystem health. Research is warranted to investigate food literacy indicators
and evaluation/measurement methods (Thomas et al. 2019). At the same time, tools and methods
to develop and enhance the food literacy of individuals and populations are also urgently needed
to increase food self-determination (Fordyce-Voorham 2011; Nanayakkara, Margerison, and
Worsley 2018; Slater 2017). Adding food literacy education to school curricula is a highly
important and achievable policy action recently identified by Food-EPI Canada (Vanderlee et al.
2017). Food choices are strongly influenced by the food environment and ensuring coherence
between initiatives that address food literacy and those that address food environments will
enhance the potential to improve nutrition outcomes of vulnerable groups and populations.
45
Food Environments and Food Literacy

Food environments have been identified as key spaces for policies and actions to improve
population diets (Swinburn et al. 2013). These food environments can be conceptualized into the
following categories: economic environment, social environment, communication environment,
and physical environment.
Economic Environment
While Canada enjoys some of the lowest food prices in the world (Gray 2016) healthy eating
remains beyond the economic reach of many citizens. In 2014, approximately 12 percent of
Canadians were food insecure; meaning they chronically worried about running out of food
and/or had limited food selection. Due to a lack of financial resources, food insecure Canadians
make compromises in food quality (Tarasuk, Mitchell, and Dachner 2016). Food insecurity has
negative effects on diet quality (Kirkpatrick et al. 2015), and is associated with poorer physical
and mental health (Tarasuk et al. 2015, Tarasuk et al. 2018, McIntyre et al. 2017). Evidence
suggests healthy dietary patterns tend to cost more than unhealthy patterns that contain more
ultra-processed food, which may be cheaper. This suggests that food insecure Canadians are
further disadvantaged by fewer healthy eating choices per dollar available for food (Rehm,
Monsivais, and Drewnowski 2015; Rao et al. 2013). Therefore, food literacy is a necessary but

insufficient condition for healthy eating.
Social Environment
Important interpersonal-level determinants of nutrition and eating include parents, social
relationships, and cultural food habits (Renner and Stok 2018). Family meals or simply sharing
food with others influence dietary habits through norms that guide eating behaviors (Higgs
2015). While peers play an important role in social eating norms, family has the strongest impact
on developing food preferences and eating practices (Kaisari and Higgs 2015; Pedersen,
Gronhoj, and Thogersen 2015). Family meals may have a protective role against negative risk
outcomes among adolescents and poor dietary intakes (Goldfarb et al. 2015; Woodruff and
Hanning 2008). The most common barriers to family meals include time constraints, work issues,
and distractions (Jones 2018). Time availability and employment (i.e., more women in paid
workforce) also impact home-cooking and the consumption of fast/highly processed foods (Mills
et al. 2017; Djupegot et al. 2017).
Decreased time for food preparation, paired with easy access to ultra-processed foods has
altered the knowledge and skills required to prepare food (Lyon, Colquhoun, and Alexander
2003; Slater 2017). It can be argued that lack of support for food education classes in schools
(i.e., home economics) has contributed to a further deficit in food preparation skills (Ronto et al.
2017; Slater 2013; Nanayakkara, Margerison, and Worsley 2017). Today, more complex skills
are required to understand how to plan meals, purchase food, and interpret food information (e.g.,
read food labels) in addition to making food that is nutritious, affordable, and enjoyable to family
members (Short 2003). To do this on a regular basis often comes at a time and energy cost
(Monsivais, Aggarwal, and Drewnowski 2014; Jabs and Devine 2006). People are leading
increasingly busier lives with competing demands, leading to wide-spread experiences of “time
poverty.” These trends facilitate unhealthy diets requiring little planning and preparation with the
use of highly processed convenience foods (Horning et al. 2017; Jabs and Devine 2006).
Communication Environment
The food industry aggressively markets unhealthy, branded foods and misrepresents the quality
of their foods to consumers with health claims and associations with fun modern lifestyles
(Schermel et al. 2013). Food marketing at sporting events exposes millions of consumers to
advertisements of unhealthy foods, paradoxically associating physical activity with unhealthy
46
foods (Bragg et al. 2018). Online, the industry aggressively targets consumers, particularly youth
to consume branded, ultra-processed foods (Kelly et al. 2015). Food marketing online may be
subtle, integrated into videos or video games, with marked influence on dietary preferences and
eating behaviors (Coates et al. 2019). Online advertising is further shaped and filtered to target
individual consumers, particularly youth (Islam and Liu 2016). Additionally, there are endless
competing claims about nutrition and food from seemingly credible sources that include
celebrities, social media influencers, pseudo-scientists, and the health and wellness industry
(Caulfield and Fahy 2016). The critical thinking skills required to evaluate its credibility,
however, are lacking (Slater et al. 2018).
Media literacy, the ability to think critically about media, can assist parents in improving
youth’s ability to use the media to obtain information about nutrition and reduce impacts of food
marketing on families (Austin et al. 2018). Credible sources of information include school
curricula and government documents/policies such as Canada’s Food Guide; however, educators
and public health practitioners may lack the resources to effectively translate credible
information to the public. There are many opportunities to intervene on these important
communication environments using food literacy.
Physical Environment
The physical retail environment shapes the access and availability of different types of food.
Where we live, go to school, and work influence whether we are exposed to, and choose

primarily highly processed or healthy food. It also determines the price and availability of food
by region, shaping which foods people can access and ultimately afford (Mhurchu et al. 2013).
New mobile technology and online food purchasing services such as online grocery shopping,
meal kit delivery, and off-site restaurant delivery apps have removed physical barriers to food
access. Online grocery purchasing services provides opportunities to improve access to healthy
foods in food desserts (Brandt et al. 2019). However, prepared meal delivery services may
increase access to unhealthy foods. While convenient for parents and students who feel time
pressures of making meals, they may exacerbate access to ultra-processed, and therefore
obesogenic foods. For example, the Skip the Dishes service in Canada provides the option to
easily order lunch from a mobile device from off-site restaurants and have it delivered directly to
any location including schools; however, there are reports that these delivery services are
disruptive at schools and are creating a burden for educators (MacDonald 2018). Additionally,
the nutritional quality of these lunches is typically very low as they tend to come from fast food
establishments (Soo et al. 2018). Greater food literacy can equip young people with the skills and
knowledge needed to make healthy food purchases and adapt to changes in their physical food
environment regardless of the type of foods or services available.
Food literacy can provide a unifying framework for holistic food and nutrition education that
can help the public build resilience to obesogenic food environments. It is a “road map” for
conceptualizing policies, programs, and research that promotes nutrition and provides educators
and policy-makers with concrete guidelines to implement interventions that target different areas
of the food environment. To this end, food literacy is being used to inform the development of
novel programs, resources and evaluation strategies. The following section outlines four
initiatives that illustrate how food literacy theory is being implemented.
Examples of Food Literacy Initiatives in Canada
Teaching Food Literacy to High School Students
In the summer of 2012, home economics teacher Eric Schofield developed and taught the course
“Food Literacy: A hands-on, and appetizing, course on thinking critically about food” to a group
of secondary school students in the downtown east side of Vancouver over a five-week period.
The class met five days per week for four hours each day. Each day involved a guest speaker, a
field trip, or a cooking lab (or a combination of the above). The course embedded principles of
47
community development, health, culture, ecology, and social justice. The students and teacher ate
together around a table (or a picnic blanket) each day. The students prepared all the food, and
they had autonomy in guiding the curriculum and topics to explore. Various volunteers from the
University of British Columbia (UBC) attended the course to help and to learn alongside
participants. Visits included talks by a UBC professor to speak about the Ecological Footprint
model and its role in the food system and a hospitality professional from a renowned local
restaurant to speak about etiquette and the hospitality industry. Field trips involved visiting a fine
dining restaurant, a local sushi restaurant, the UBC farm, numerous grocery stores, food
specialists, and the local food bank. Prior to visiting the food bank each student was given a
small allowance to purchase food for the food bank, and they were asked to reflect on what is
most nutritious and delicious in relation to affordability. On a specific tour of a grocery store they
were asked to count the number of green vegetables, and then compare this with the number of
different sugar-sweetened beverages and snack items.
One of the highlights of the course was when the class realized they were preparing too much
food for the class to consume. Students explored options, resulting in regularly giving the excess
food to a local organization that provides resources to adults living with mental health issues. The
students took great pride in preparing meals that they knew were delicious and nutritious, and that
they knew would be enjoyed by other people. This connected with two key themes from the course
framework: social justice and community engagement. The course developed by Mr. Schofield
touched on social, communication, and physical domains of the food environment.

Mr. Schofield has been working on integrating the summer course framework (Figure 1) into
the public-school system. Aspects of the course have been used as part of various food studies
courses from grades nine to twelve. Although there was a great deal of success with this
experimental summer course, adapting it to a regular classroom curriculum continues, but proves
challenging. Areas of challenge relate to budget, timetable, colleague buy-in, curriculum rigidity,
and overall time and energy. Mr. Schofield is looking into the following possibilities in the future:
A) Developing a co-op program that combines theoretical and hands-on content in the classroom
with a community partnership (e.g., restaurant, foodbank, cafeteria, farm); B) A course “double
block,” i.e. integrating a home economics class (foods and nutrition) with a social studies class
(human geography). This would consist of cooking labs along with discussion and analysis of the
food system while providing students with credit for two courses; C) A standard course titled Food
Literacy that expands on traditional foods classes and offers credit in home economics; and D)
Develop an alternate program which exists in the community and is connected to a school and/or
school district typically targeted towards at-risk youth. Students would have a theme, Food
Literacy, involving daily cooking, a garden, various field trips and guest speakers, and room to
obtain credit in other subject areas directly and indirectly related to food and food studies.
Mr. Schofield’s Food Literacy framework (Figure 1) provided a foundation for an innovative
course that would not be possible in a traditional classroom setting. This allowed for the inclusion
of personal health and well-being; health of the environment; understanding how and where food is
grown and produced; the role it has on the environment; financial literacy and purchasing power;
career choices; micro and macroeconomics; and resourcefulness. The framework facilitated a
project-based, problem-based, and hands-on curriculum; student independence; opportunity to
produce and take pride in their work; and social and emotional learning from a cooperative
environment requiring teamwork and problem-solving. This course was rooted in engagement with
community, each other, the curriculum itself, and in finding joy through food.
48
Figure 1: Framework for Teaching Food Literacy to Youth

Source: Eric Schofield 2013

FANLit: Food and Nutrition Literacy for Educators
Despite increasing concern over children’s poor dietary habits, obesity, and lack of food skills,
there is a paucity of accessible, evidence-based, culturally-appropriate (including Indigenous)
food and nutrition education materials available for educators. Consequently, there is a
significant gap in the knowledge translation of evidence-based food and nutrition
research/knowledge into appropriate education strategies for children and youth. FANLit (Food
and Nutrition Literacy: www.fanlit.org) addresses the communication domain of the food
environment and the need to support educators in teaching food and nutrition to young people.
FANLit is a web-based knowledge portal created in 2018–19, which aims to increase the
availability and use of evidence-based tools and resources to support food and nutrition literacy
education in Manitoba, Canada. FANLit uses an iterative project development method whereby
the web-based tools and resources are continually evaluated and renewed. FANLit is accessible
to all end-users, who are primarily expected to include K–12 teachers, including Home
Economics, Science and Physical Education; dietitians; and community-based educators. FANLit
is hosted by the Department of Food and Human Nutritional Sciences at the University of
Manitoba, and includes:
 Age-specific food and nutrition literacy competencies, scaffolded through childhood.

 Lesson plans and supporting materials to support age-appropriate food literacy
competencies.
 Materials tailored to Manitoba’s Indigenous communities.
 Contextual material to assist educators in advocating for food/nutrition programming
(e.g. data/reports on nutritional status of children and youth; dietary guidelines).
 Lesson plans and supporting materials are contributed via the following:
 Community of Practice members and other educators contribute original materials.
 Human Nutritional Sciences students
 Curated, third-party tools and resources that meet inclusion criteria are linked.
49
The Community of Practice (dietitians, academics, teachers, community-based educators,

home economists, Indigenous food experts) provides input into FANLit development, and
oversees the portal on an ongoing basis. This includes ensuring that tools and resources meet the
standards and criteria for inclusion. Key Messages: Evidence-based food literacy education
resources are needed to promote food literacy in populations. FANLit lesson plans and
supporting materials focus on a broad scope of topics identified in the “Food Literacy
Competencies for Young Adults” Framework (Slater et al. 2018). These resources support
Canada’s new Healthy Eating Strategy, including the new Canada’s Food Guide (Health Canada
2019); Indigenous resources; and the new Manitoba Human Ecology Food and Nutrition
curriculum (grades 5–12). Using a Community of Practice model ensures that resources are
current, engaging, evidence-based and meet the needs of end users. FANLit was launched in
November 2019. It will be expanded as additional funding is secured, and will be evaluated in
2020 using a variety of methods (web-based surveys, digital metrics from portal, focus groups).
Measuring/Integrating Food Literacy into Nutrition Interventions
Limited understanding of food literacy contributes to the difficulty of evaluating this construct.
Process evaluations are often implemented for cooking and/or nutrition interventions and
evaluation typically is limited to one or two components of food literacy (e.g., knowledge, food
skills) (Vidgen 2016). Even with a formal definition of food literacy, measuring this construct is

challenging because of the multidimensional and contextual nature of food literacy (Vidgen
2016; Truman, Lane, and Elliott 2017). Currently, there is a paucity of tested and evaluated
measurement tools limiting the ability of public health practitioners to assess the impact of food
literacy on eating patterns or evaluate the outcomes of interventions. There are few tools that
have been validated (Vaitkeviciute, Ball, and Harris 2015; Vidgen 2016); however, many of the
tools may not be suitable due to different cultural/geographical contexts or the evaluations are
limited to a specific attribute of food literacy (Barton, Wrieden, and Anderson 2011; Davis 2017)
In 2012–2014, a Locally Driven Collaborative Project (LDCP) team of registered dietitians
from Public Health Units in Ontario explored the meaning of foods skills with youth (aged 16 to
19 years), young parents and pregnant women (aged 16 to 25 years) at higher risk for poorer
health. In-depth interviews were conducted with eighty-five participants in a mix of rural, urban,
and Northern communities in Ontario. Findings generated a broader definition and a conceptual
model whereby food skills were part of a comprehensive construct, food literacy (Desjardins et
al. 2013). Interestingly, youth/young adults stated that they were motivated to prepare their own
food to address cost, taste, personal health, child health, independence, pleasure, and creativity.
The most common reason for preparing their own food was “knowing what’s in it” (Desjardins et
al. 2013). Participants preferred practical, hands-on learning rather than just receiving recipes or
watching a food demonstration. Preparing food for others or with their children was a source of
pride and satisfaction (Desjardins et al. 2013).
Subsequently, a three-year research project to determine how to measure food literacy
ensued. In 2016, a broader literature review was needed to ensure earlier findings were consistent
with more recent research efforts (Vidgen and Gallegos 2014; Colatruglio and Slater 2014). Both
a scoping review (Azevedo Perry et al. 2017) and Delphi with identified key stakeholders
(Thomas et al. 2019) were conducted to identify, summarize, and confirm the attributes of food
literacy in the literature. Twelve food literacy attributes were identified and organized into five
categories of food and nutrition knowledge, self-efficacy and confidence, food skills, food
decisions and ecologic (external) factors (LDCP Healthy Eating Team 2018).
In 2017, prior to developing and implementing a measurement tool, extensive knowledge
exchange was conducted and is ongoing. Key objectives were to increase understanding and
knowledge of the identified food literacy attributes and to shift public health practice to a
comprehensive focus on food literacy at both a program and policy level. A Food Literacy
Framework and practical scenarios demonstrating the utility of the Framework were developed
50
and presented to Ontario, Canada practitioners (LCDP Health Eating Team 2017). A Call to
Action with key recommendations was developed and disseminated to public health units (LDCP
Healthy Eating Team 2018).
In 2018, the LDCP team worked collaboratively with a research team from the University of
Toronto to develop a measurement tool. Literature was reviewed to obtain tools that measured
“food literacy” and/or any of the identified attributes. Questions relevant to the public health
context and aligning with identified attributes were extracted. Questions that better
complemented each attribute were developed using data previously collected from target priority
populations (Desjardins et al. 2013). Further expert consultation was obtained prior to the
qualitative testing of the questions. Currently, both qualitative and quantitative testing of the tool
in the field is occurring with the same identified target populations.
Most food literacy programming in schools and communities are not addressing policy
measures tackling the social determinants of health, the food system, or the economic domain of
the food environment. This project has developed a novel tool with indicators measuring
understanding, knowledge, and perception of individual attributes rather than behavior change or
the ecological attributes (such as change to food insecurity or the food system). Too many
confounding factors influencing individuals’ ability to change dietary behavior resulting in
additional outcome indicators would conflate the tool. However, additional tools that have been
evaluated could be provided along with the food literacy tool to measure the ecological attributes
(e.g., food insecurity) and dietary behavior more effectively.

Promoting Meal Planning to Parents with the Eat Well Campaign
To support food literacy at a population level, government implemented policies are needed and
may include: taxation, marketing restrictions, food labelling, and communication campaigns
(Afshin et al. 2015; Mozaffarian et al. 2018; Huang et al. 2018). Comprehensive or
multicomponent strategies that involve various simultaneous initiatives and include partnerships
from various levels of society are more successful than isolated interventions (Afshin et al. 2015;
Johnston and Finegood 2015). Among strategies to improve diet and nutrition, there is some
evidence that communication campaigns have been successful in influencing eating practices,
particularly when part of multicomponent interventions; however, little is known about topics
other than increasing vegetables and fruit intake or reducing sodium and sugar-sweetened
beverage consumption (Mozaffarian et al. 2012). Mass media campaigns support the
communication domain of the food environment by disseminating messages about food and
nutrition to the public. However, evaluation is important to help keep decision makers
accountable for public health dollar spending and to improve future communication interventions
to make them more impactful (Moore et al. 2015; Bartholomew et al. 2011).
In 2013–14, Health Canada implemented the Eat Well Campaign (EWC) to promote meal
planning to Canadian parents and researchers from Université Laval and Université de Montréal
conducted an independent evaluation of the EWC toward the end of the campaign (Fernandez
2019). Time was previously identified as a major barrier to healthy eating and home-based food
preparation in Canada (Chenhall 2010; Howard and Brichta 2013). Meal planning was a key
dimension of food skills identified by the Region of Waterloo Public Health and was seen as a
means to overcome time-related barriers to cooking (Vanderkooy 2010). While meal planning
was the main focus of the EWC, other nutrition messages were delivered simultaneously. The
objectives of the campaign focused on increasing the awareness about the importance of planning
for healthy eating and how to plan (Fernandez et al. 2019a). Health Canada primarily used mass
media to disseminate the EWC through the diffusion of five campaign elements: the Mr.
Zucchini character, Spokeswomen, model celebrity families, magazines and online editorials. To
increase the reach and improve effectiveness of the campaign, the EWC was disseminated in
English and French across Canada with the help of cross-sector partners in the media, the retail
51
food industry, and the public health sector (Fernandez et al. 2016). Interviews were conducted
with twenty-one cross-sector partners and 964 parents from across Canada were surveyed.
Key evidence-informed recommendations were generated from qualitative interviews with
Health Canada’s cross-sector partners. Among these recommendations, it was found that
selecting a common overarching public health message that different types of partners could
support is extremely important to get organizations to become involved. Meal planning and food
literacy messages such as family meals and including children in grocery shopping were seen as
positive messages that had general widespread support from partners in the media, retail food
industry, and public health sector (Fernandez et al. 2017). The parent survey found that, though
40 percent of parents reported recognizing at least one main element of the campaign, it was not
seen many times and parents rarely reported recognizing multiple elements of the campaign. This
indicates that the audience is segmented and future campaigns will need to continue to use
multiple diffusion elements/media channels to disseminate messages. Parents with lower income,
less education, and who spoke French reported the highest awareness of the campaign.
Additionally, parents living in rural Quebec and Quebec City had greatest awareness of the
campaign, whereas parents living in Vancouver, Winnipeg, and Toronto had the lowest
awareness. A large difference in reach among different subgroups indicates that the diffusion
methods were only successful among certain groups and that other methods will be needed to
have a broader penetration among different audiences. Nevertheless, the campaign strategies
used were successful in reaching lower income and less educated parents and did not contribute

to exacerbating health inequalities. Parents who were aware of the campaign had more favorable
attitudes towards meal planning. While the campaign was seen by a large proportion of the target
population, the campaign intensity and dose may not have been sufficient to alter behaviors
around meal planning (Fernandez et al. 2019a). Furthermore, despite the intention for meal
planning to help overcome time-related barriers to cooking, time was also the primary barrier to
meal preparation in this population (Fernandez et al. 2019b).
Results from this study reinforce the importance of monitoring and evaluating food literacy
interventions. While, overall, mass media campaigns can be an appropriate method to create
awareness by translating specific food literacy messages to the public, these campaigns should
not be stand-alone initiatives. For campaigns to be used as an effective strategy to improve food
literacy, they need to be sustained over a long period of time, include messages grounded in
formative research, and implemented as part of a multicomponent strategy that enables and
supports healthy eating practices.
Conclusion
This article highlights the need to improve food literacy of Canadians through evidence-based
and innovative education and assessment strategies. The initiatives presented illustrate how food
literacy can be translated to different populations and evaluated. FANLit fills a much-needed
training gap to facilitate the insertion of food literacy into school and community settings by
providing adequate course materials such as high-quality teaching plans. In Canada there are no
mandatory home economics classes, despite the need for teaching this important life skill to
youth. The Food Literacy Educational Framework (Figure 1) is an excellent resource to guide the
integration of food literacy concepts into high school curricula for educators. Mass media
communication campaigns are viable methods to translate food literacy messaging directly to the
public and complement other initiatives. They have the advantage of reaching a large proportion
of the population and contribute to a new discourse on food. Finally, methods and tools to
measure and monitor food literacy will be valuable to assess the impacts of food literacy policies
and interventions. The mass media campaign and food literacy measurement tool described in
this manuscript are evidence of the valuable role that regional and national governments can play
in facilitating healthy eating practices through food literacy. We recognize that many challenges
remain, namely continued and sustained funding to ensure long-term support for implementation,
52
evaluation and evidence-based research of training and education programs, curricula and
population interventions. Additionally, these programs need to fit into a larger framework that is
holistic and connects healthy eating practices with sustainable food systems, and recognizes that
food security is vital for all citizens as a prerequisite to utilizing food literacy.
Acknowledgement
MA Fernandez is a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Fellow (FRN: MFE-158091). J Slater
is supported by the Canadian Home Economics Foundation and the Faculty of Agriculture and
Food Sciences Endowment Fund (University of Manitoba).
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Melissa Anne Fernandez, PhD, RD: Postdoctoral Fellow, School of Public Health, University of
Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Eric Schofield, BA, BEd: Culinary Arts and Food Studies Teacher, Stelly's Secondary, Saanich
School District, Brentwood Bay, British Columbia, Canada
Elsie Azevedo Perry, RD, MSc: Public Health Nutritionist, Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge
District Health Unit, Health Promotion, Port Hope, Ontario, Canada

Joyce Slater, RD, PhD: Associate Professor, Department of Food and Human Nutritional
Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
60
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Food Literacy: Four Initiatives in Canada

Article in Food Studies An Interdisciplinary Journal · January 2020

Melissa Anne Fernandez Joyce Slater

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SKILLS evaluation: the Eat Well Campaign View project

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ACTING DIRECTOR OF PUBLISHING

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Food Studies: An International Journal

What is Food Literacy?

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Others have conceptualized food literacy as having three sub-components: functional,

Impact of Contemporary Diets on Human and Planetary Health

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Food Environments and Food Literacy

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Figure 1: Framework for Teaching Food Literacy to Youth

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 Age-specific food and nutrition literacy competencies, scaffolded through childhood.

The Community of Practice (dietitians, academics, teachers, community-based educators,

Measuring/Integrating Food Literacy into Nutrition Interventions

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Environmental Defense. 2018. “Talking Trash: Canada’s Plastic Pollution Problem.”

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS

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As well as papers of a traditional scholarly type, this

Food Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal

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